How to Copy Boot Drive to Another Drive | Complete Guide

Prepare for copying Windows boot drive to another drive

The easiest method to copy boot drive to another drive is using disk clone software, which will include OS-related system files or drivers to ensure your computer is bootable. Before we dive into the cloning process, please make the following preparations:

1. Get a New HDD or SSD

• Capacity Check: Ensure that the new drive has enough storage capacity to hold all the data from your current boot drive, including the operating system, applications, and files.
• Type of Drive: Choose between an HDD or SSD depending on your needs. SSDs are faster and more reliable, but they tend to be more expensive per gigabyte compared to HDDs.
• Drive Interface: Make sure the new drive is compatible with your system’s ports (SATA, M.2, etc.) for easy installation.

2. Free Up Space and Backup Your Data

• Free Up Space: Uninstall unnecessary applications, clear temporary files, and delete large files you no longer need. This will make the cloning process quicker and ensure that only the essential data is transferred.
• Backup Data: Although cloning software typically transfers all data, it's still wise to create a backup of your important files just in case something goes wrong during the transfer.

3. Install the New HDD or SSD

• Physically Install the Drive: If your computer has two slots, just slide your drive into the slot and screw it tightly. If your computer only has one slot, connect your new HDD or SSD using an adapter, or put it into a disk enclosure and then connect the other side to your computer via a USB port.
• Initialize the New Drive: If the target drive is a brand new drive, you may need to initialize it before using it. This can usually be done through the Disk Management tool in Windows.

Once these steps are complete, you’ll be ready to clone your Windows boot drive to the new drive.

Best clone software to copy boot drive to a new drive

Some manufacturers offer data migration software to help smooth out the process to migrate their data from one hard drive to another, such as Samsung Data Migration, WD edition of Acronis True Image, etc.

However, there are some restrictions while using it. If you experience any unpleasantness, try third-party hard drive and SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Professional. It works for all the Windows operating systems and any disk brands.

✨Bootable clone: The “Disk Clone” feature will copy all data on the old disk, including Windows OS, installed applications and personal files, ensuring a secure boot after cloning. ✨Different partition styles: Clone MBR disk to GPT disk or vice versa without converting partition style. ✨Different sizes: You can not only clone disk to larger disk, but also clone larger HDD to smaller SSD. ✨Different interfaces: You can clone NVMe to NVMe, clone M.2 SSD to M.2 SSD, clone SATA HDD/SSD, etc. ✨SSD Alignment: It optimizes the SSD disk performance and extends its lifespan.

Download AOMEI Backupper to try it now!

How to copy boot drive to a new SSD step by step

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Backupper. In the main page, click Clone and Disk Clone to start the cloning process.

Note: If your smaller SSD cannot hold all data on the old disk after freeing up space, try the System Clone feature to move only OS-related partitions, such as C drive, EFI system partition, and system reserved partition.

Step 2. Select the old drive containing the operating system as Source Disk and the new drive you installed before as Destination Disk.

Note: The data on the destination disk will be overwritten or deleted during the cloning process. Please backup files in advance. Click OK to continue if you've done this.

Step 3. Confirm the operation and click Start Clone to clone boot drive in Windows 10.

✍ Helpful tips:

1. If the target drive is an SSD, tick SSD Alignment to accelerate the reading and writing speed of the SSD.

2. If the target drive is smaller than the source drive, don’t check the Sector by sector clone feature. It will clone all sectors on the source drive, whether used or not, which may result in cloning failure.

3. You can use the Edit Partitions feature to adjust partition size and partition style of the destination disk.

• Copy without resizing partitions: It will not resize the partition size.
• Add unused space to all partitions: It will reallocate the unallocated space to each partition of the target disk, appropriate for the disk size.
• Manually adjust partition size: It allows you to extend unallocated space to any partition on the destination disk as you want.
• Convert the destination disk from MBR (GPT) to GPT (MBR): It helps to convert the partition style of the destination disk if it is different from the source disk.

Boot from the newly cloned drive

Sometimes, your computer may not boot from the target drive automatically. Follow these steps to get it fixed:

1. If your computer only has one slot and the new drive is connected via an adapter, you can now remove the case panel and replace the old drive with the newly cloned one. If your computer has two slots, you can skip this step.

2. Restart your computer and press the appropriate key to enter the BIOS or UEFI settings. Then navigate to the Boot or Boot Order section and set the cloned hard drive as the first boot option.

3. Press F10 or select Save and Exit from the menu. Your computer will restart. It should now boot from the newly cloned drive.

Note: If your target disk has a different partition style from the source disk and you don’t convert it with the Edit Partitions option in AOMEI Backupper, you should also change boot mode (Legacy/UEFI) in BIOS to make your computer boot successfully.

Verdict

That’s all about how to copy boot drive to another drive in Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11. The best disk cloning software AOMEI Backupper makes the cloning process as easy as ABCs. What’s more, it is a professional backup utility that can help you backup files to WD My Passport easily. Don’t hesitate to try it out!

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